Rishi's signature Chicken

I call this my signature dish ... started off with the basic chicken curry and tinkered around to make it better. Also, even though my mom will kill me, I have tried to combine different aspects of CKP, Malvani etc. cooking styles in this dish, which I personally believe add to the overall taste profile.

The one major ingredient of this dish that is different from most CKP cooking is the Malvani Masala. It gives a very distinctive taste to the curry. You can generally buy Malvani Masala in grocery stores. A company called K-Pra (similar to Everest, MDH etc.) sells this masala. Alternately any 'assal Marathi dukaan' will definitely sell this. Ask Renuka Vahini to find some for you - I am sure she'll know where to go look. Any shop that sells kokum aagal will almost certainly have Malvani Masala.

Ingredients

Chicken pieces - 800g - 1 kg
Vaatan - 2 tablespoons
Malvani Masala - 4 heaped teaspoons
Garam Masala - 1/4 heaped teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - 1/8 teaspoon
Water of one large baby coconut (Shahaala)
Freshly grated coconut - 1 large vaati
Onions - 3 large
Chopped coriander - 1/2 cup

Method

1) Clean the chicken pieces, liberally apply vaatan and let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes

2) Take 2 of the onions, and slice them vertically (no need to be too precise). In a large flat pan, add a little oil (3 teaspoons), and dry roast the onions thoroughly (almost till they start getting a little burnt). This is similar to when we dry roast onions for making crabs.

3) Once the onions start turning a dark brown, add the freshly grated coconut to the pan, and continue roasting till the coconut starts getting brown as well. Keep on constantly moving the items in the pan to prevent any 'karapne'.

4) Let the dry roasted onions+coconut mixture cool, and then blend it in a mixer with a little water to get a thick brown paste - this is the typical Maharashtrian 'garam vaatan' which is the base of almost any non-fish meat dish.

5) Chop the remaining onion finely

6) In a large utensil, heat 2 tablespoons of oil

7) Once the oil is heated, add the chopped onion and saute till it turns golden brown

8) Add Malvani Masala, Garam Masala, Turmeric and about 1 teaspoon of salt and saute the onions a little more (1-2 minutes)

9) Add the marinated chicken pieces and saute for 1-2 minutes

10) Add the water of one entire shahaala, cover the utensil with a lid and let it cook for 7-8 minutes on a medium flame

11) Add the garam vaatan (roughly 4-5 heaped tablespoons of it), and a little water (1/2 cup). Cover and cook for another 5-6 minutes

12) Check the doneness of the chicken pieces, and the salt level. Add more salt if needed.

13) Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon on Malvani Masala into the curry and stir it in. You should have a thick-ish curry at this point.

14) Add the chopped coriander, turn off the flame, cover with a lid.

Enjoy this with 'kombdi vade' ... ask vahini if she knows how to make kombdi vade. If not, chapati and jeera rice.